socialbites.ca: Are there plans to evacuate the population in the border regions in the near future? Is there such a demand from the residents of the neighborhood? Is it possible to implement this?
Roman Starovoit: We keep the situation in the border areas under control and respond immediately to changes. A “yellow” terrorist threat regime is currently in force in the Kursk region. To a large extent, this is necessary for the mode of operation of power services. Observation points were created in places where soldiers and police were present, and patrols were intensified in settlements. Kuryan, please be vigilant.
There is no need to evacuate from border areas. But we understand the fears of people living in villages adjacent to the state border. We provide the opportunity to leave the settlements close to the border – about 5 km from the border – to those who want. The residents of border villages who have taken such a decision can apply to the administration of their municipality. People will be placed in temporary accommodation centers free of charge.
– The governor of the Belgorod region recently complained that he had to take an oath not to let the inhabitants of the border regions into villages close to the border. Are you experiencing such difficulties and is there a ban on visiting border villages?
Citizens’ freedom of movement is an inalienable right of citizens. But there are some nuances of staying in the border area.
Kuryans registered and permanently residing in such settlements can stay there freely and indefinitely. Foreigners are more difficult. According to current legislation, they are required to issue a special pass to the border area. To do this, you should definitely contact the Border Guard Service.
– On May 30, the Ministry of Defense sent additional forces to the Kursk region. Has the security situation in the region changed as a result?
– The situation in the border areas of the Kursk region remains tense.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has sent additional forces – weapons and personnel – to the Kursk region to ensure the safety of residents. Enhanced anti-aircraft missile and artillery units, electronic intelligence units. Army aviation is interested in patrolling the border area.
Still, there are provocations, although less often. There are shelling of settlements, there were cases of using quadrocopters by Ukraine that dropped explosive devices. In particular, on June 19, a drone in the Belovsky district dropped ammunition on the Kucherov farm site. As a result, the windows of the house were broken and the fence was damaged. On the morning of June 17, the border village of Gordeevka in the Korenevsky district was fired from mortars – windows of several houses were damaged.
When shelling the territory of the Kursk region, units of the FSB Border Guard and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation immediately take retaliatory measures to suppress the firing points. This makes it possible to detect enemy fire weapons and neutralize them.
– Are there plans to continue to strengthen the defense of the Kursk region?
– The introduction of additional units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to protect the population living in the border area was justified.
We are in close contact with the Ministry of Defense and intelligence agencies, which coordinate all efforts on a daily basis to ensure security in the region. Interaction was established with the military garrison and the law enforcement command, and the procedure was determined in case of emergency.
– Have many people living in the border regions of the region left since the beginning of the special operations? How many people left the region as a whole?
— To date, more than 200 people living in the border regions have decided to move in with their relatives. According to the latest data, 14 more people took advantage of the campaign and settled in temporary accommodation centers.
— How do you assess the degree of security in the region? Do you think leaving the region is the right decision or is it not necessary?
I am confident that in the current situation there is no need to leave the area. The economic situation is stable, the people of Kursk live and work as usual, and security is provided by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. The grouping, which provides protection for the border areas of our region, has been significantly increased. We do everything we can to ensure the safety of the people of Kursk and the guests of the Kursk region.
In the Kursk region, together with the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, border guards, police and National Guard control the entry and temporary stay of citizens in the border zone, control vehicles, take filtering and inspection measures, and checkpoints have been established.
The operational situation in the border areas is monitored 24 hours a day. In case of any event, the public will be informed.
Currently, the Kurians are not in danger. However, everyone has the right to make their own decision, taking into account the current situation.
– At the beginning of June, you went to the DPR, where you signed a cooperation agreement. According to you, the Kursk region will “take protection” over the Pervomaisky district of the republic. What does that mean? Will funds for the restoration of Donbass be allocated from the regional budget?
– On June 6, I paid a working visit to the Donetsk People’s Republic. The main purpose of the trip was to get acquainted with the Pervomaisky district, which the Kursk region received its patronage. The intentions of our region – to assist in the restoration of the municipality – are legally determined. We were able to visit the social facilities where our help was needed in the first place.
A kindergarten in the village of Mangush, Pervomaisky district, has been repaired, it has already started working. In the spring there was a temporary accommodation center for residents of areas where hostilities took place. The contractor started the overhaul of the local school. It is also necessary to restore the school building, which was hit by the tank in Starodubovka.
There is a kindergarten in Kamyshevat, which needs interior decoration, purchase of equipment and improvement of playgrounds on the territory.
We also plan to repair mortar and asphalt plants, roads, residential buildings damaged during the bombardment. In addition, it is necessary to prepare the social infrastructure facilities for the warming season and to close the damaged thermal contours of the buildings. There are future projects. For example, the construction of a water pipe from Berdyansk. The Dnieper River has a freshwater basin, while the water in the area is technically imported or desalinated. In the future, it is planned to build treatment plants in the settlements on the coastline.
It is still difficult to talk about the financial component.
Troubleshooting is in progress, then estimates will be made. During the trip, necessary medicines and Russian books were also delivered to the region. Also, from the funds of the Childhood World marathon, more than 1.1 million rubles were provided to local residents. Office equipment and toys purchased for kindergartens.
– How much money has already been spent on the restoration of buildings and areas of the Kursk region, destroyed by bombing by the Ukrainian Armed Forces?
“Unfortunately, some items were significantly damaged during the provocations. Now almost everything has been repaired, some minor works remain.
In March, during the incident with military equipment in the village of Tyotkino, Glushkovsky District, social facilities were damaged – health, educational and cultural institutions, buildings and structures of sugar and distillery factories, as well as residential buildings.
Damage amounted to about 70 million rubles. Funds for restoration were allocated from the reserve fund of the Kursk region administration.
In addition, the village of Vorobzha in the Sudzhansky district and the villages of Alekseevka and Dronovka in the Glushkovsky district were destroyed by repeated shelling by the Ukrainian side. A road bridge over the Seim River was restored in Tyotkino. Builders have already repaired the roofs of more than 20 houses, covering the windows of more than 100 houses in Tyotkino. The windows of the Culture House, school, nursery and hospital were replaced and the roof was restored.
Engineering infrastructure was restored as soon as possible: a substation at the customs checkpoint, a medium-pressure gas pipeline and electrical networks.
In the village of Alekseevka, apartments, private sector houses and a school were damaged during the bombardment. The glass was broken somewhere, the facade was destroyed. Window blocks of a school in the village of Dronovka were damaged. A school and residential buildings were also damaged during the bombing of the village of Vorobzha. Restoration work has been completed in most of the villages.